WIP Wednesday ~ Onto the Longarm ~ Row by Row 2015

Using Curve Piecing

With a lighthouse....

This is my lighthouse quilt block.  The the fabrics are leftovers from the kits I bought.   I started with the water, building up the layers of sand and rock, then adding clouds and sky.   The technique I used is detailed at Red Pepper Quilts.

After I had a finished the background, I started building my lighthouse.

My completed blocks.

My scrap pile from the kits.... some of this
is still usable.  I will cut it into small pieces
later.....

At this point I packed up my temporary sewing space and drove home with the kids from camp..... The quilt now needed boarders.... I stopped by a local store and picked up some black for sashing.  And then used the background from the crab, seahorse and octopus for a thin accent.

Complete top with sashing

Loaded on the frame

On the last row of sashing quilting. 
Next back to quilt the blocks

A cute little horse.....

While I was away 2 of my machines were in for a cleaning and checkup.  So when getting my embroidery machine back I had to test it out.....

The right is the test stitch out from the shop!  I love that they chose the same design that I go to when having problems..... If I can't get a design to work, then I will often clean the machine, then stitch out this same butterfly!

The kids sewing machine is in the shop and I'll pick it up Friday (its ready, just don't have time to drive out!)

WIP Wednesday ~ Row by Row ~ More blocks

These fish need some friends!

After finishing 8 rows for row by row Experience, I decided I needed some friends for my Angel Fish, Clown Fish and Puffer fish....

Right or Wrong Side?

Since I am at Piping Camp, my selection of background fabric is limited..... so I had this wonderful green and blue verigated, but it has silvery flowers dashed around it... but the back is beautiful.... So sometimes the wrong side is RIGHT for a project!




So digging through my fabrics leftover from the kits.... I came up with some friends ~ an Octopus, Seahorse and crab...  Some sketching, then cutting, and soon I had some more fish!

And ocean full of sea creatures!

So what is next for my Row by Row?   A lighthouse!

NOTE: My crab, seahorse and octopus are SELF DESIGNED and are NOT part of the Row by Row Experience.

Tonight my daughters competed in a dance choreography competition.... and my oldest daughter and son competed last nigth in a piping competition.   Last night there were 2 2nd place finishers, and tonight my oldest daughter won the competition! 

WIP Wednesday ~~ More Row by Row

I am working on the rows from the Row by Row Experience.

I have completed the assembly and applique for 5 more blocks.  I haven't done any of the stitching around the objects yet....   But I haven't decided if they all "fit" in one quilt.... 

Why am I struggling to get these to all fit in the same quilt?  Some is fabric, some is pattern and mostly trying to figure out a good shape.... I don't want a quilt 36"x72".....  For those quilt shops, maybe a few more quilt shops could create vertical rows next year!    Or the shape could change?  

Row 3:  From Country Folk Fabrics.   The middle row with the paper pieced waves....

My first 3 rows complete

Row 4: From Hamel's Fabrics:  Just noticed that one of the blocks isn't sailing the correct way.... Oops.... but I'm not putting them as a whole row.  Probably independent blocks to make the quilt  a better shape......

Boats!

On Friday we drove to Kamloops for the Highland Games on Saturday.  On our way down, we managed to find 3 more quilt stores.  I picked up 2 kits and one patterm..... The kids did great.  My 9yo placed 2nd in her drumming, my 12yo got a 3rd and 6th in Grade 5 Piping and my 14yo son got a 1st, 2nd & 4th for Grade 2 Piping and got the aggregate for his grade for the 3rd year in a row at this games!  Their bands each placed first

Grade 2 Piping Solos

Grade 5 Piping solos

Beginner Drumming Solos

Band Performance

Beautiful clouds rolled in to keep us cool.... but they also got us wet!

Band at the line

Row 5: From Quited Treasures in Coquitlam.   I decided after making the whole row to cut this into thirds for a row down the side.... I think I will design 3 more fish along these ideas to complete one for each row of my finished quilt....

Row 6:From Katja's Quilt Shoppe in Kamloops, BC.  This is a beautiful wave block. 

Row 7: From A Great Notion in Abbotsford.   Each location of A Great Notion has different blocks.  I didn't go to the Surrey/Langley store to pick up their blocks because I'm not a fan of sunbonnnet Sue....  But I love this BC River Block!

All blocks laid out together.... 
Really wish I had a VERTICAL block!
So I'm making my own....

Row 8: From Thread and Paper, I struggled a little with this block as the insturctions weren't clear (to me as a novice to appliqué).  And a piece of fabric was missing.  So I modified to pattern a little to use the pieces of browns I had.   They did offer to send me the missing fabric, but I had already finished the block!   So great customer service. 

Next step is to sash the blocks in the quilt.... and probably design some other blocks.....  I think I need a lighthouse silhouette block.... 

Other Activities: I am also designing a quilt for the Anniversary Contest at Needle & I Quilt Shop.... I am going to use my embroidery machine when I get home. Currently "playing" in Embird....

Linking up with WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced and WIP Wednesdy at Needle and Thread Network.....

WIP Wednesday ~ Row by Row!

I am working on the rows from the Row by Row Experience.

This week I have completed the assembly and applique for 2 blocks.  I haven't done any of the stitching around the objects yet....  I have started the 3rd row and am slowly making my way through the paper piecing....Linking up with WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced

Row 1: From Poppin's Quilt Parlour

Row 2:  From Cherry Tree Quilts

Row 3: I am currently working on the 3rd row..... From Country Folk Fabrics

Sewing from Piping & Dance Camp!

A Row by Row quilt shop hop

We shopped our way following the Row by Row Experience   to the next highland games..... 

  http://www.rowbyrowexperience.com/

posted from Bloggeroid

What a Weekend! Christmas Quilting Blitz!

Christmas Tree
From our backyard.  This tree was planted after
our first Christmas in this house and had more
than doubled in height.  The tree needed to be
removed from the backyard....

So the top came into the living room :)

I had lots of help in the sewing room the weekend before Christmas.   No let me re-phrase that..... I was the help, the teacher, the mentor, the coordinator..... my sewing time was limited, I did the binding on 4 quilts, and quilted one quilt.  BUT we did get 4 quilts done in 4 days!   And this was all from stash!    The Friday evening before Christmas, we (definitely not me) had this brilliant idea to make 4 quilts for gifts!!!!!  So I put the condition, that everyone must help, and the fabric had to come from stash.

A Pillow Case

Tic Tac Toe Game

Friday night we chose fabrics, Saturday we started and finished 2 quilts (except binding), Sunday we did the other 2 quilts (except binding), created labels for 4 quilts and bound 1 quilt for Monday night.  As well we did a tic-tac-toe game and a pillow case!   Tuesday I finished up with the binding on 3 quilts.

The Tic Tac Toe Game is a free download from Craftsy.   The bag was self designed and I added the outlines from the Tic Tac Toe Pieces.  The Bunny embroidery was from Bunnycup Embroidery.

We had some friends over to so crafts....

This is the prep work we did before they came over.....

These are the completed crafts

Quilting Process:   These quilts were quilt as you go on the longarm.   First the backing and batting were loaded on the machine.  Each quilt has a different batting as these were from stash -- one has wool, one poly, one is an 80/20 and the last I think is a 100% Cotton.....   They are all the width of the backing -- and strips cut width of fabric....  and stitched down using the horizontal lock, then flipped and quilted.   The kids quilted their projects using wavy lines.... I used free hand scrolls.

I had some wonderful helpers.....

---

Quilt 1: For Grampa

---

Quilt 2: For Gran

---

Quilt 3: For Gramma

---

Quilt 4: For my Brother